SynBioFooDB: a comprehensive resource for synthetic biology-driven food biomanufacturing
4 affiliations
- 1Biodesign Center, Key Laboratory of Engineering Biology for Low-carbon Manufacturing, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Tianjin 300308 ,
- 2Haihe Laboratory of Synthetic Biology , Tianjin 300308 ,
- 3National Technology Innovation Center of Synthetic Biology , Tianjin 300308 ,
- 4College of Biotechnology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology , Tianjin 300457 ,
Abstract
Enabled by synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, microbial biomanufacturing is reshaping the production of food-related compounds by offering sustainable alternatives to resource-intensive extraction and conventional chemical synthesis. However, information linking food-related compounds to biosynthetic pathways and microbial biomanufacturing evidence remains fragmented across the literature and poorly represented in existing food-oriented resources, hindering cross-study comparison, evidence synthesis, and rational design of microbial production systems. Here, we present SynBioFooDB (https://synbiofoodb.biodesign.ac.cn/), a knowledgebase dedicated to synthetic biology-driven food biomanufacturing. SynBioFooDB integrates 74 237 food-related compounds with standardized chemical identities and annotations covering food occurrence, bioactivity, toxicity, and regulatory information. It further provides expert-curated biomanufacturing evidence for 1054 compounds from 5592 publications, linking microbial hosts, substrates, genetic modifications, and quantitative production metrics through structured and traceable records. The database also contains 2002 literature-reported biosynthetic pathways for 971 compounds, enabling comparison of alternative precursors, enzyme combinations, and pathway architectures. For compounds without literature-reported pathways, SynBioFooDB provides computationally predicted candidate pathways to facilitate pathway prioritization and experimental evaluation. By integrating compound-level context, biomanufacturing evidence, and biosynthetic pathway information, SynBioFooDB supports systematic exploration, comparison, and rational design of microbial production strategies for food-related compounds.
Related
- Biological Parts in Yeast Synthetic Biology: From Regulatory Elements to Predictive Design Platforms
- Bilateral exchange in synthetic biology: experiences, challenges, and opportunities for training and research
- Engineered Factor VIII: A Comprehensive Review of Molecular Biology, Design Strategies, and AAV-Mediated Gene Therapy
- scMRdb: a comprehensive resource for cell-type-resolved Mendelian randomization of complex traits
- Exploring the Anticancer Potential of Plant, Marine, and Synthetic Glycosides: A Comprehensive Review
BibTeX
@article{wei2026synbiofoodb,
title = {{SynBioFooDB: a comprehensive resource for synthetic biology-driven food biomanufacturing}},
author = {Fan Wei and Xiaogui Deng and Haoran Li and Ruoyu Wang and Zhitao Mao and Yufeng Mao and Yushuo Liu and Qishun Niu and Yuxin Qin and Jun Du and Xiaoping Liao and Yu Bai and Qianqian Yuan and Hongwu Ma},
journal = {Nucleic Acids Research},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/nar/gkag1073},
url = {https://academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkag1073/9002505},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - SynBioFooDB: a comprehensive resource for synthetic biology-driven food biomanufacturing
AU - Fan Wei
AU - Xiaogui Deng
AU - Haoran Li
AU - Ruoyu Wang
AU - Zhitao Mao
AU - Yufeng Mao
AU - Yushuo Liu
AU - Qishun Niu
AU - Yuxin Qin
AU - Jun Du
AU - Xiaoping Liao
AU - Yu Bai
AU - Qianqian Yuan
AU - Hongwu Ma
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Nucleic Acids Research
DO - 10.1093/nar/gkag1073
UR - https://academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkag1073/9002505
AB - Enabled by synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, microbial biomanufacturing is reshaping the production of food-related compounds by offering sustainable alternatives to resource-intensive extraction and conventional chemical synthesis. However, information linking food-related compounds to biosynthetic pathways and microbial biomanufacturing evidence remains fragmented across the literature and poorly represented in existing food-oriented resources, hindering cross-study comparison, evidence synthesis, and rational design of microbial production systems. Here, we present SynBioFooDB (https://synbiofoodb.biodesign.ac.cn/), a knowledgebase dedicated to synthetic biology-driven food biomanufacturing. SynBioFooDB integrates 74 237 food-related compounds with standardized chemical identities and annotations covering food occurrence, bioactivity, toxicity, and regulatory information. It further provides expert-curated biomanufacturing evidence for 1054 compounds from 5592 publications, linking microbial hosts, substrates, genetic modifications, and quantitative production metrics through structured and traceable records. The database also contains 2002 literature-reported biosynthetic pathways for 971 compounds, enabling comparison of alternative precursors, enzyme combinations, and pathway architectures. For compounds without literature-reported pathways, SynBioFooDB provides computationally predicted candidate pathways to facilitate pathway prioritization and experimental evaluation. By integrating compound-level context, biomanufacturing evidence, and biosynthetic pathway information, SynBioFooDB supports systematic exploration, comparison, and rational design of microbial production strategies for food-related compounds.
SN - 0305-1048
SN - 1362-4962
ER -